Pot Roasted Chicken With Garlic and Rosemary - Manu's Chicken

I'm an avid watcher of reality TV cooking programmes - currently My Kitchen Rules where Manu Feildel is one of the judges. His catch cry is 'it need more sauce' and I have to agree! I love really rich sauces with dishes.

This recipe looked pretty easy and perfect for a cold winter evening.
I loved the sauce (...and the rest of the dish). It was really intense and garlicky.
I served it with smashed potatoes - also really garlicky!






Pot Roasted Chicken With Garlic and Rosemary - Manu's Chicken

Ingredients
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
4 chicken marylands (leg and thigh portion)
1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
12 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
4 sprigs of rosemary
1/2 cup of white wine
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
50 grams of butter
roast potatoes to serve

Mix together
flour and paprika with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then coat the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Heat an enamelled cast iron casserole dish over a med-high heat then add the olive oil. Fry the chicken, skin side down, for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown, then turn and cook for another 4-5 minutes till golden brown.
Add the garlic, rosemary and wine, bring to the boil, then transfer to the oven to cook for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through..
Transfer to the chicken , garlic and rosemary to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Place the casserole over a high heat and simmer the sauce for about 7 minutes or until reduced by half to a sauce consistency.
Whisk in the butter, then taste and season if desired.
Serve the chicken with the sauce, peeled garlic cloves and roast potatoes.

Roast Lemon Chicken and Potatoes and Tomatoes

Tonight we will watch the movie "Lemoney Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" with Isabella. We decided that this deserved a 'lemony' theme for our dinner to go with it.
We started with Tomato and Carrot soup with lemon from a children's recipe book of Isabella's we are working our way through, followed by this lemon chicken and finished with lemon, lime and gin mousse.

This recipe is very similar to another I make that had lemon, chicken and potatoes, it had the same gooey lemony sauce. I think a combination of the two might be a great idea. The slight smokey flavour from the smoked paprika I used in the liquid poured over was really nice and the cherry tomatoes gave another vegetable to the dish.

The picture of the original recipe is better than mine but it give the idea of what it was like.



Roast Lemon Chicken and Potatoes and Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS:

Nonstick cooking spray

4 lbs. (10-12) skin-on, bone-in chicken parts (thighs, legs, wings)

1 lb. baby potatoes

1/2 onion (yellow or red), thinly sliced

2 lemons, 1 sliced and 1 juiced

1/3 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

10 oz. cherry tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a rimmed 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish with cooking spray. Into the baking dish arrange chicken parts (skin side up), potatoes, sliced onion and lemon slices evenly in pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, salt and pepper. Pour mixture all over chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle all over generously with additional Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered for about 1 hour, or until chicken and potatoes are fully cooked. During last 20 minutes of cooking, add cherry tomatoes and continue cooking for the 20 remaining minutes.

Moroccan Chicken - Slow Cooker

A super simple slow cooker meal. I served it with cous cous and veges.
It only needed about 4 hours on low in my slow cooker.

I'd probably increase the cinnamon and coriander next time too.












Moroccan Chicken - Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, sliced
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Cooked couscous or rice for serving
• Slivered almonds or pine nuts for garnish, optional
• Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
• 
  
• How to make it

1. In a slow cooker, combine chicken thighs, chickpeas, apricots, raisins, chicken stock, ginger, olive oil, salt, coriander, cinnamon, and pepper; stir. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Serve over cooked couscous or rice and garnish with cilantro and pine nuts, if desired.

Thai Chicken Soup - Slow Cooker

The chill of autumn has finally hit after what was a very long summer. With that cooler weather comes wonderful food and soups. I'm alway looking for slow cooker meals that mean I can arrive home to a meal cooked or almost cooked. Especially nice when its dark when I get home from work.

I've pinned several slow cooker soups to try out. My soup repertoire is pretty limited at the moment - 4-5 favourites that I cook and the chicken and vegetable soup that is different each time depending on what veges are in the fridge or garden.

I love Thai flavours and this looked good because it can be spiced up with chilli after cooking so everyone in the family can have the spiciness they want.

I'd have loved more coriander (cilantro) , unfortunately I never have much luck growing it and the plants in the garden only supplied a few sprigs.

The soup needed salt and I think I'd add fish sauce to give a bit more flavour. Overall it was one I'd make again due to a good taste and the ease of making it.


Thai Chicken Soup - Slow Cooker

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

I haven't eaten red meat for about 20 years now...with the exception of bacon. I'm not super fussy about it, a bit of red meat in dishes is fine, but I could not imagine sitting down to a steak or hunk of lamb. As a result I am always on the look out for new chicken and seafood recipes.
I'm also about to start a new job which I know will be be a huge time commitment. I'm determined not to resort to ready made, preservative filled meals for my family though. This week I got busy and made 5 meals to freeze one night.
When I found this recipe I figured I could make it for dinner and made another lot to go in the freezer to cook another night.
The original recipe was a bit different, it had a cup of water in it and the quantise were a bit different. My modifications worked well! It was quite salty (which I like). A reduced salt soy source might be a better idea.
The quantities below were plenty for two meals of 6 chicken thighs (12 thighs in total).

Not the best photo but the taste was great!

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

• 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 cup soy sauce 
• 1  cup brown sugar
• 1 bunch of green spring onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 1/2 cup of a white onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can of coconut milk

Instructions

1. Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 8 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.
2. Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done.

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

I love my slow cooker dishes and this is another that is really simple to prepare and quick to cook either in the slow cooker or oven.
I have added capsicum, broccoli and other vegetables (whatever is in the fridge) and added cashews to serve to make it a more complete meal.
Serve with rice.


Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken

Ingredients

• 3-4 Chicken Breasts (about 2 lbs)
• 1 can of pineapple in juice (tidbits, chucks, rings, it doesn’t matter)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• ½ cup chicken broth

Instructions

1. Chop onion and place in crock pot.
2. Place Chicken Breast on top of onion.
3. Dump the can of pineapple (juice and all) over the chicken.
4. Dump the soy sauce and the chicken broth on top of everything.
5. Cover and cook on HIGH in the crockpot for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8
6. hours.
7. Serve over rice and with a steamed veggie

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetable Curry

I love the ease of preparing a meal and just leaving it to cook for several hours. I also love a good curry. I have not been able to make to many I have been happy with in the slow cooker but this one is great.
I cooked it for only about 5 hours on slow but my slow cooker is reasonably fast.
I also thickened the sauce a little bit near the end of cooking.
I used potato, kumera, cauliflower, beans, onion and red pepper.

I substituted cayenne pepper with chilli flakes and served it with a dollop of plain yoghurt to take the spicy edge off for my little person.

This one is a make again for sure.



Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb. (~700 g) boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into chunks
• 6 cups of veggies, chopped (I used one cup each of onion, carrots, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes and red bell pepper. Use what you like or have on hand.)
• 1-14 oz can (~400 ml) of full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes (or tomato sauce)
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (I used chilli flakes)

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken and veggie into medium-large chunks. Put everything into the crock pot.
2. Stir in the coconut milk, crushed tomatoes and water. Then add the spices: cumin, ground coriander, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine everything.
3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. [I cooked mine for 8 hours overnight since my current crock pot does not have an automatic shut off function, though, at it came out perfect nonetheless.]
4. Serve. Would be great over cauliflower rice, but it’s tasty on its own, too.

Butterflied Spiced Roast Chicken

This recipe came from my most recent Cuisine Magazine. It always has a 'Quick Smart' section which gives simple quick recipes by one of my favourite NZ chefs Ray McVinnie.
While it doesn't look fantastic in the photos it was really nice and quick and easy to prepare.

Butterflied Spiced Roast Chicken

Cut down each side of the backbone of a whole chicken and open it out flat.
Place in a roasting dish skin side up and rub with crushed garlic, ground cumin and cinnamon, chilli flakes, salt and extra virgin olive oil.
Roast for 1 hour at 200 degrees C then serve.

Slow Cooker Whole Lemon Chicken

I've seen loads of whole chicken recipes for slow cookers and have always been a dubious. After all part of the attraction of a whole roasted chicken is the browned crispy skin.

I decided to give one a go this weekend and found the results really good. No the skin was not crispy and brown, but the meat was really succulent and the lemon used to cook with gave it a really nice flavour.

As usual my 'slow cooker' was too fast! When the recipe said X hours, I reduced it to about 4 and it possibly could have had a little less.

This would be a good recipe for cooking chicken that will be used cold for lunches or salads. We had it hot with gravy which was nice too although I took the skin off mine because it was too pale looking.

I also added potatoes and jerusalem artichokes to the slow cooker to make sure I had most of the meal cooked at once.

Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 lemons
• 2-3 heads of garlic
• 1 whole chicken 
• Fresh rosemary, or any fresh herbs
• All-purpose steak seasoning or salt and pepper (I used smoked garlic salt)

Instructions

1. Cut garlic heads and lemons in half and lay in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Cut the bottoms off the lemons so they lay flat.
3. Add a sprig of rosemary, or any herbs.
4. Remove insides from chicken, rinse chicken and pat dry.
5. Season chicken well, inside and out, with all-purpose steak seasoning or salt and pepper.
6. Lay chicken on top of garlic and lemon slices and stuff the chicken with a garlic head cut in half, and a lemon cut in quarters.
7. Cover top of chicken with additional lemon slices and rosemary.
8. Turn slow cooker to high, and cook for about 4 hours, or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.
9. Slow cooker cooking times vary.
10. Important: Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.
11. When chicken has reached 165, turn off slow cooker and let chicken rest for about 15 minutes.
12. Remove from slow cooker, carve and serve.
13. Liquid from slow cooker can be strained and served over chicken.

I found this recipe in the most recent Cuisine magazine. What appealed to me was the fact that it was pretty easy and used only one pan to make.

I had picked up an amazingly big bunch of fresh coriander from the Tauranga Farmer Market this weekend so the final deciding factor was the fact that it had lots of fresh coriander in it.

The combination of spices smelled amazing while this was cooking. It was easy and pretty quick. I did the first few steps then left it until closer to when we were going to eat.

I made a couple substitutions - peas instead of broad beans and mandarin instead of orange. I also served Isabella's before sprinkling on the coriander which I used a lot of - more like a cup than 1/4 of a cup.
I didn't have almonds so left them out but I'd get them for next time because I think the crunch would give a nice contrast. I think there could easily be a few changes to this dish and it would still be great.

This dish got rave reviews - even from Isabella (5 years). 

The coriander added great flavour and the greek yoghurt gave it a really nice zing.

I'd happily make this for guests.We will be having this again soon!

Persian Chicken Pilaf

SERVES: 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
600g skinned and boned free-range chicken thighs, cut into 3cm pieces
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1 1⁄2 cups (375ml) gluten-free chicken stock
zest and juice of 1 orange
4 silverbeet leaves, thinly sliced
2 cups frozen broad beans
1⁄4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1⁄2 cup Greek-style natural yoghurt
1⁄4 cup coriander leaves

Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add half the chicken and fry, turning, for 3 minutes or until lightly browned all over. Remove to a plate then repeat with the remaining chicken, adding more oil if necessary.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the saucepan then add the onion and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. 
Return the chicken to the pan, along with the cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and ginger. Cook, stirring, for 
1 minute or until fragrant. 

Add the rice, stock and orange juice to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 12 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat. Top the rice mix with the silverbeet leaves then cover and set aside for 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, cook the broad beans in a large saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Peel the broad beans, discarding the grey outer pods, so you are left with the bright green inner beans.

Use a fork to gently toss the silverbeet through the rice mix, along with the broad beans and almonds. 

Divide the pilaf among serving plates then serve topped with a dollop of yoghurt and sprinkled with the orange zest and coriander. 

Lemon and Olive Chicken - Slow Cooker

This is yet another from Pintrest and adds to my growing slow cooker repertoire.
The dish was nice. A positive verdict from all who ate it.

The cumin added an interesting flavour and I loved the olives with the lemon.
My slow cooker is a quite fast - I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not?
The meat was cooked is about 3-4 hours on slow.
The sauce was a quite thick (maybe because I added it to the slow cooker while it was hot)  I so I added more chicken stock to it.


Lemon Chicken Thighs with Olives Recipe

 

Ingredients

• 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon pepper, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ cup pitted green olives

Instructions

1. Sprinkle chicken thighs evenly with salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add half of chicken.
3. Cook about 3 minutes per side, or until browned.
4. Transfer to a slow cooker.
5. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and repeat procedure with remaining chicken.
6. Transfer to slow cooker, and add lemon slices.
7. Combine broth, juice, flour and cumin, stirring with a whisk.
8. Pour broth mixture over chicken.
9. Top with olives and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper.
10. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 hours.

Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary

I'm on the look out for low calorie meals at the moment. This one looked pretty easy and was one of those recipes that uses things you have in the house usually.
It was really really nice and full of flavour. I will be making this again soon.
The sauce had an amazing lemony, tomato flavour with a hint of rosemary. The beans worked really well with it too.
The other bonus is that it was really quick.
I served it with steamed vegetables and rissoni for the family members not being so careful about calorie intake!


(This recipe serves two people, so a total of 550 calories on the recipe, 275 calories per person)

Lemon Chicken with Cannellini Beans and Rosemary

Ingredients

• low-fat cooking spray
• 200g chicken breast fillets, skinless and cut into small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, finely chopped and woody stem discarded
• juice and zest of 1 small lemon
• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved (I used crushed tomatoes)
• 100ml vegetable stock (I used stock concentrate and made it really strong)
• 2 tablespoons low-fat plain Bio-yoghurt (I didn't add the yoghurt)
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Step 1	Heat a large frying pan that has a lid, or a wok and then spray with low-fat cooking spray. Season the chicken breast pieces and then fry for 5 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Step 2	Add the garlic and cumin seeds and stir around the pan until the spices smell fragrant, then add the rosemary, lemon juice and zest, beans, tomatoes, stock and seasoning and stir to combine them all.
Step 3	Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4	Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a minute or two before adding the yoghurt, stir well and serve in warmed bowls.

Greek Slow Cooker Chicken

Thanks http://www.mommiecooks.com for the picture

I love the combination of garlic and lemon so this recipe looked like a good one to try. That coupled with the fact that my oven is not working other than to grill prompted me to give this one a try.
My picture didn't look so good, so I've used the one from the site I found it on
. I guess we are used to beautifully browned chicken and the slow cooker doesn't do that so well.
The recipe was easy and in my slow cooker cooked faster than the time listed in the recipe.
I'll be making this one again. Possibly preparing in advance freezing then cooking while I'm at work.

Greek Inspired Slow Cooker Chicken

1 Lemon, Juiced
4 Garlic Cloves, Minced
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup White Wine
1/4 Cup Chicken Broth
1 tsp Dill
1 tsp Rosemary
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Whole Chicken, Broken into it's Respective Pieces

Directions:

Add all the ingredients with the exception of the chicken to the marinade.

Mix up well.

Add in the chicken and coat all the pieces completely.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours.

Serve over noodles with sauce from the slow cooker spooned over the noodles and a little feta and olives for good measure.

Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken

Another day without my oven working means another slow cooker meal. This one looks very very like Maple Mustard Chicken except it is made in a slow cooker.
I cooked it with layers of thinly sliced potato in the bottom of the slow cooker dish. A good addition that meant I didn't have to prepare another part of the meal.
It really is nicer cooked in the oven, I missed the browned sticky chicken but it was still nice.

Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Place all ingredients in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Sprinkle with fresh or dried rosemary for serving.

Honey and Garlic Chicken - Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker meals really appeal to me and this one even more than usual because it was so easy. I think this would also make a good 'freezer meal' too.
It took less than 5 minutes to put together and ended up cooking a lot faster than the recipe suggested but that seems to be the case with my slow cooker.








Honey and Garlic Chicken - Slow Cooker

The Ingredients.

serves 4

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 or one thigh per family member)
3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped (I used my microplane)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup  soy sauce 
1/2 cup ketchup (tomato sauce)
1/3 cup honey


The Directions.
Check after 3 hours on high, 5 hours on low
Put the chicken into your cooker. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, then pour evenly over the top.
Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 (I'd go with low---). It was probably more like 2-3 hours on Low for me.
Serve with basmati rice and steamed or roasted vegetables.  I served it with couscous

Slow Cooker Adobo Chicken

This is a recipe I've had 'pinned' for a while. While I had not heard of it before the ingredients looked good.
I made it today with boneless chicken thighs and it was worth making again. It cooked really fast though. I think I'll do it with chicken with the bone in next time.
I reduced the sauce down in the slow cooker (using the browning setting) and it made a really intensely flavoured sauce...best used sparingly but well worth using.
It had quite a bite from the cayenne pepper. To cater for the little person, I just left the sauce off.

Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo 

Yields 4-6 servings

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 pounds chicken thighs, fat trimmed
• Brown rice, for serving

Mix ingredients, add chicken and coat well.

Cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove chicken and put in dish to grill in oven.

Strain remaining liquid, then simmer 8-10 minutes to reduce by half.

Baste chicken with liquid then  grilling for about 2 minutes on each side.

Serve with rice.

Chicken and Wild Rice - a freezer meal

Summer holidays are almost over. While I've been working for the last three weeks from home (with short days and lots of breaks) I start back full time at work in a matter of days.

Last year I was organised enough to have a few meals in the freezer ready for nights when cooking a meal was tricky due to other commitments. While I always prefer to cook from scratch with fresh ingredients, sometimes a home made frozen meal is better than the 'take away' or ready made alternatives. This year I plan to be a bit more strategic about getting meals into the freezer.
I've been hunting for ideas. Ideally something that can be made ahead, frozen and cooked in the slow cooker while I am at work. Unfortunately my working day is long and often meals cooked for well over 8 hours (even on low) come out a bit over cooked.

I've been pinning ideas on Pintrest and tonight tried one out. I made one for dinner and one for the freezer. Lots of the sites I have pinned talk about having a huge cooking session and making a week's (or more) worth of meals or more in one go. Unfortunately I just don't have the freezer space.

Tonight's trial was a bit of a risky one. I've never cooked a dish that has uncooked rice in it that cooks in one dish in the oven. I was a bit dubious about what rice to use as many of the sites I've been looking at are American and they seem to use 'pre cooked' everything in the dishes.

I used disposable foil dishes - not so good environmentally admittedly. I'll work on that one!

The dish came out well. As usual I increased the vegetable content and played with the recipe. It will never be my favourite meal but it was super quick to prepare a meal for tonight and one for the freezer.

Chicken and Wild Rice 
1 box wild rice with seasoning packet (4.3 oz) (I used a cup of uncooked wild rice - not partially cooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup 
1 can cream of chicken soup 
1 can water 
1 small can mushrooms, drained (I used uncooked mushrooms - about 2 cups chopped)
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, uncooked (I used thighs with the bone in)
1 cup slivered almonds 
I cup chopped courgette
1 chopped capsicum
2 spring onions chopped

1. Mix together rice with seasoning packet, both cans of soup, and water.  Stir in mushrooms (and other vegetables)
2. Pour in to 8X8 freezer dish, I use the foil pans.  Top with 6 chicken pieces and sprinkle with slivered almonds. 
3. Double wrap in heavy duty foil, label and freeze. 
Cooking Instruction: Thaw and bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour until chicken juices run clear and rice is tender. 
I like to serve this dish with a side of broccoli and fruit.

Butterflied Greek Chicken

Not the best picture...but the taste was great

I found this today after hunting for a simple recipe for a whole chicken. The recipe did say to marinate overnight but my timeframe didn't allow this.
The smell of the dish cooking was amazing. John could smell the garlic from down the street when he arrived home.

Isabella (5 years) isn't a huge meat eater but requested a second serving of this dish.

It is a make again for me for sure. I would probably cook it with chicken pieces for ease of serving and would follow the recipe and marinate the chicken overnight.
I'd possibly cook it on the BBQ too.







Butterflied Greek Chicken

Ingredients:

For the Greek marinade:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I used some oranges to make up the 1/2 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup olive oil
•  
• 1 chicken, 3 to 4 lb., neck and giblets removed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

To make the Greek marinade, in a bowl, stir together the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme and basil, then whisk in the olive oil. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Place the chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Using kitchen shears or a large knife, cut along one side of the backbone from the tail to the neck. Pull open the bird, then cut down the other side of the backbone to free it. (Discard the backbone or save it for stock.) Turn the chicken, breast side up, and open it as flat as possible, like a book. Press down firmly on the breast to break the breastbone—you will hear popping noises—and flatten the bird.

Season the chicken generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a large sealable plastic bag in which it lies flat and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag, squish the marinade around the chicken and refrigerate the bag flat for at least 24 hours, or 48 hours is better. Turn the bag over several times while the chicken is marinating.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to begin grilling, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Discard the marinade and pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect grilling over medium heat; the temperature inside the grill should be 350º to 375ºF. If using charcoal, bank the lit coals on one side of the grill bed and place a drip pan in the area without coals. If using gas, preheat the burners, then turn off 1 or more of the burners to create a cooler zone. Brush and oil the grill grate.

Place the chicken, skin side down, over the direct-heat area of the grill and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, away from bone registers, 170ºF, or the juices run clear when a thigh joint is pierced with a knife tip, about 15 minutes more. If the chicken begins to burn, move it to the indirect-heat area of the grill and add a few minutes more to the cooking time.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut into serving pieces and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6. 

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo

I pin lots of recipes on Pintrest and don't always get around to making them. Earlier this week I decided to go back and have a look at a few of them, especially those that looked quick and easy. Tonight's dinner was one of those and it was sooooo easy and really good to eat.
The other bonus is that it is cooked in one dish and pretty much prepare it and leave it to cook...nothing else!
I'd be tempted to spice it up with smoked paprika if I didn't have a little person eating it, but it was just fine with the spice from the chorizo coming through.
I always keep chorizo in my freezer so it is there when I need it and the other ingredients are pretty standard in my house. I added 2 capsicums to the dish to increase the vegetables and serves it with broccoli and cauliflower...but  it would have great with a salad too.


Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes
Recipe from Nigella Lawson's Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes from her bookKitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home.
Serves 6.

• 3 tablespoons regular olive oil
• 12 chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
• 750 grams chorizo sausages, whole if baby ones, or cut into 4-cm chunks if regular-sized
• 1 kilogram baby potatoes, half the larger ones
• 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 chopped cloves of garlic
• 2 capsicums chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• grated zest of one orange
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Put the oil in the bottom of a large shallow roasting tin. Rub the skin of the chicken in the oil, season with salt accordingly, then turn them skin-side up. Spread the chorizo sausages and the new potatoes around the tin. 

Sprinkle the onion and the oregano over, then grate the orange zest over the arranged contents of the 2 tins. Cook for 30 minutes, then swap the top tray with the bottom tray in the oven and baste the contents with the orange-colored juices. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes or till chicken is done.